The Importance of a Filter

I had a conversation today that made me think for a second or two about the things that I assume everyone takes to be universal truths.  I find that this happens to me quite often.  There are many things in my world (that I often refer to as my bubble) that are ... "well, duh" to me that seem to be new thoughts (or at the very least new approaches) for other people.

One such recent discussion was on the importance of a filter.

What type of filter?  No not a car filter or water filter, but a life filter.  As Christians we are taught to live in the world without living like the world.

In order to do this I need a filter.  But what happens if the filter that we put up is on the outbound side instead of the intake side of our lives?  It is a "well, duh" to me that the filter has to be on the intake side, but I learned today that is not true for everyone.  For me, if I were to have my filter only on the outgoing side I would be seen by my family and peers as the person I want to be, but that filter would be holding back a dam of filth.  Dams are known to fail.  I am weak.  I would break.  I have broken.  By having my filter on the intake/incoming side of my life I manage to filter out a lot of the filth of the world.  No filter gets everything out, but I do find this way easier.

So, where is your filter?  What works for you?